Tasmania Begins Coronial Inquest Into Deaths In Custody

Monday 31 August 2015 @ 12.23 p.m. | Legal Research

Tasmania has begun a coronial inquest into the deaths of Troy Monson, Robin Michael and Scott Mitchell, which all occurred in police custody. The inquest was originally announced to cover two separate incidents of suspected suicides in custody, which occurred within a week of each other in June 2015.

Background to TAS Coroner Investigation

42 year old Troy Monson died in a prison van while being transported from Launceston to Hobart, and Robin Michael, 63, was found dead at Risdon Prison a week later. At the time, Vanessa Goodwin, the Minister for Corrections, released a statement saying she was “deeply concerned that another death [in] custody has occurred so soon after last week’s incident” and had “requested urgent advice from the Tasmania Prison Service on what immediate actions are being taken in response to this latest incident”. In July, 23 year old Scott Mitchell died of what is thought to be a health condition, also in the Risdon Prison complex. This death has also been added to the inquest.

According to an ABC News report, the inquest could take three days and is likely to address issues including “standards of supervision, training of prison officers and standards of transportation and accommodation.”  The Tasmanian Prison Service has reportedly already increased staff monitoring of prisoner behavior, and Ms Goodwin told ABC News that prisoners at high risk of self harm were now being reviewed by Therapeutic Services prior to being moved, and that the safety of medium security cells was being reviewed.  A previous coronial inquest into a series of five suicides at Risdon Prison in the early 2000s prompted a $90 million redevelopment of the prison complex.

Coroners in Australia

In Australia, coroners are generally magistrates who investigate unnatural and suspicious deaths. These often include deaths in custody, deaths following medical procedures, violent and unnatural deaths and accidental deaths.  In some jurisdictions, coroners are also in charge of investigating fires.

Coroners’ Courts are specialist courts where these investigations are heard.  They are inquisitorial in nature, with coroners able to ask questions and lead the inquiry.  The Courts are generally not bound by the normal rules of evidence, and have more flexibility to consider information.

Following the investigation, coroners may make recommendations to governments about ways to improve procedures or practices.  Coroners do not determine guilt or innocence when investigating the circumstances of a death, but they usually have some mechanism to refer someone to the Department of Public Prosecutions, who then decide if there is a case.

Each State and Territory has an Act that deals with the coronial process and is available through TimeBase's LawOne service:

  • Coroners Act 1997 (ACT);
  • Coroners Act 2009 (NSW);
  • Coroners Act (NT);
  • Coroners Act 2003 (Qld);
  • Coroners Act 2003 (SA);
  • Coroners Act 1995 (Tas);
  • Coroners Act 2008 (Vic); and
  • Coroners Act 1996 (WA).

In regards to who will have jurisdiction, the NSW Coroner’s Court website says:

“When Coroners in more than one State have jurisdiction to investigate, the respective State Coroners will usually consult each other to determine which State should relinquish jurisdiction to the other. In rare cases inquests into the same death may be heard in more than one jurisdiction.”

TimeBase is an independent, privately owned Australian legal publisher specialising in the online delivery of accurate, comprehensive and innovative legislation research tools including LawOne and unique Point-in-Time Products.

Sources:

Related Articles: